2.
Replace siding -- vinyl For this mid-range project, which entails
replacing 1,250 square feet of existing siding with new vinyl siding and trim,
87.2 percent of a $9,134 job can be recouped. Residents of nine cities could expect
to fully recoup costs or more.

In Knoxville, a whopping 159.3%
of the $7,562 project cost could be recouped.

9 cities that can expect to recoup costs:



Chicago



Knoxville,
Tenn.



Albany,
N.Y.



New
York



Providence,
R.I.



Los
Angeles



Baltimore



Miami



Richmond,
Va.

Still, not everyone is
a vinyl siding advocate. "It is flimsy and even though it is easy to maintain,
it eventually pits, stains, and fades," Carey says, adding that those conditions
can't be repaired. Dean Bennett, president of a design and construction firm based
in Castle Rock, Colo., says vinyl siding is frowned upon in his area. "It's
rarely seen, and it looks a bit out of place in most areas," he says. "So
it would likely not return such a high percent of investment." In fact, Remodeling
magazine's snapshot of the Colorado Springs market found that just 49.6 percent
of a $10,450 vinyl siding project would be recouped at resale.